Cake Stuff charity projects

Here at Cake Stuff we believe we have a moral obligation to help those less fortunate than ourselves whenever we are able to. Like many other companies, we actively support countless local events and projects involving schools, nurseries, community events etc and our own team regularly dig deep to donate to worthy causes but we also try to help a little further afield too

To be honest, we feel a little uncomfortable talking about charity projects. We certainly don't publicise it nor try to gain commercial benefit from it, but many of our projects involve the support of Cake Stuff customers so it's only right we at least mention some of the activities we're involved in . . .

Hundreds of fundraising coffee mornings, cake sales and other events benefit from our help every year. This year we're also supporting Mary's Meals, Cancer Research, the Salvation Army Street Project, Loaves & Fishes, MacMillan Cancer Support, Community Action Nepal and Epilepsy Connections - you can read more about some of these and other projects we've been involved in below - as well as supporting (often through our customers) the charities and organisations whose logos are shown at the bottom of the page

We're regularly asked for help with fundraising events and we're always happy to help if we possibly can. If you are a Cake Stuff customer and are looking for some support with a charity fundraising event or project, please contact us by email and we will look at any way in which we can help. We always try - please believe us - but with the number of requests for help we receive, it's simply not possible to help out on every single occasion

With fundraising cake and bake events especially, it's impossible for us to oblige every request for help, for obvious reasons. Even so, if you are a Cake Stuff customer, please feel free to email us with details and we may be able to support your event by offering a special discount on any products you need, or we may even be able to send you some items free. As we say - we always try and find a way of helping if we possibly can

Epilepsy Connections

Epilepsy a cause close to our hearts here at Cake Stuff so we are delighted to support Epilepsy Connections and the excellent work they do to help people with epilepsy and their families We have partnered with Pennies, the electronic charity box to help us raise funds for Epilepsy Connections with your generous support

Established in April 2000 by a group of volunteers with an interest in epilepsy, Epilepsy Connections’ vision is of a society in which epilepsy is not a barrier to opportunities and quality of life. Their mission is to be the best provider of community-based epilepsy services

How can you help?

When you place an order with Cake Stuff and reach the checkout page on our website, you will be given the opportunity to ‘round up’ your order to the nearest pound and automatically donate your ‘change’ to Epilepsy Connections via the Pennies electronic charity box (see below)

Epilepsy Connections provide:

• one-to-one, family and group support• practical information about understanding and managing epilepsy, seizures and treatment• advice about managing epilepsy at home, school or work• support for people to deal with their feelings about living with epilepsy• liaison with epilepsy specialist clinics• benefits advice• information and support for people affected by epilepsy in minority ethnic communities• a befriending service and personal development programmes for adults isolated by epilepsy• epilepsy awareness training including training programmes for school communities• social and leisure opportunities for children and families affected by epilepsy

Their key beneficiaries are adults and children with epilepsy, and their families. Epilepsy is a common neurological condition directly affecting 1 in 103 people in the UK, with approximately 87 new cases diagnosed every day. Epilepsy can have a devastating effect on physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual and sexual well-being, education and employment, financial and personal independence, lifestyle and leisure choices, relationships, personal safety, and self-confidence

Epilepsy Connections’ commitment to high standards as a service provider and employer is valued by service users, staff and volunteers and was formally recognised when they were shortlisted for the Scottish Charity of the Year award in 2010. Find out more about Epilepsy Connections at: epilepsyconnections.org.uk

Pennies digital charity box

We’re all familiar with the idea of dropping our spare change into the charity box sitting on a shop counter. Pennies is exactly the same idea - it's simply an electronic, or digital, version. It works when we pay by debit card, credit card, PayPal etc

When you reach the checkout page on the Cake Stuff website, you will be given the opportunity to ‘round up’ your order to the nearest pound and automatically donate that small amount of ‘change’ to Epilepsy Connections. So, for example, if your order comes to £27.65 and you tick the box - the total rounds up to £28 and your 35p 'change' is donated along with a further 35p from Cake Stuff

The pennies you donate quickly add up to help fund projects and support for people with epilepsy so, when you’re next at checkout, please drop your small change into the virtual tin. There is absolutely no pressure or commitment to give but, through the continued generous support of Cake Stuff customers, we can raise lots for this worthwhile charity. Cake Stuff have also undertaken to match all donations collected every month - effectively doubling the total of whatever our customers donate. A few pennies here and there soon add up and can make a real difference

All donations are carefully monitored and recorded by the Pennies organisation to ensure complete integrity and transparency and 95% of everything goes to the charity so it's a very safe, effective and ethical way to donate. Find out more about Pennies at pennies.org.uk

Feeding a child - every school day

We are delighted to be working alongside Mary's Meals and are really excited about playing our small part in making a difference in the year ahead

Mary's Meals is a registered charity founded here in Scotland that provides one good meal every school day for some of the world's poorest children, in 12 countries across the world. And by providing these meals at schools, children are encouraged to go along and have access to an education. Mary's Meals is run in a very efficient and ethical way, with volunteers helping to keep running costs and expenses low. For every £1 donated, a massive 93p is spent directly on their charitable activities

From humble beginnings, Mary's Meals has grown into an organisation that now feeds over 1,230,000 children every school day (April 2017) and, with your help, we've found a way to help keep that number growing . . .

from 1st January 2017, every 5kg of Couture sugarpaste sold has provided a meal for a child

So, with your help, and without it costing you a single penny more, we are providing thousands of meals for hungry children every month. It's a simple, efficient way of helping ensure kids much less fortunate than our own are being provided with one of life's most basic needs - a nutritious meal

Loaves & Fishes

Cake Stuff are immensely privileged to count among our friends a gentleman called Denis Curran

Denis is one of life's good guys - one of those rare people who are truly inspirational. Drawing on his own past personal experience sleeping rough, Denis works tirelessly to provide food, clothing and support for homeless people in the Greater Glasgow area - many of whom have slipped through the safety net of the welfare system. Loaves & Fishes (Jesus feeds the 5,000) doesn't just meet the immediate needs of homeless people, but works with them to get them into a home, employment or voluntary work and back into society again

Denis' straight-talking tough-love approach has earned him the deserved reputation as an expert on homelessness and the plight of people who are homeless or living in poverty. Loaves & Fishes works with food banks and families living in poverty as well as with the people we would regard as 'traditionally homeless'

Denis was invited to address the Scottish Parliament's Committee on Welfare Reform and, characteristically, wasn't overawed by the politicians and didn't pull any punches... so much so that the TV recording became quite a hit on YouTube - you can watch it by clicking here

Despite the sad need for their work to continue in this day and age, Cake Stuff are delighted to continue supporting the work of Loaves & Fishes. Find out more about Loaves & Fishes at loavesandfishes.org.uk

The Cake Bridge

In 2011, Cake Stuff and our lovely customers funded the building of a life-saving bridge in a remote village in Malawi through an organisation called The Raven Trust. Local people call the bridge 'keke mlatho' ... the cake bridge

We decided that, rather than ask for donations, we'd simply donate a small percentage from every order placed during the year - it quickly added up and our customers helped build this amazing bridge without even realising they were helping!

A friend of ours, Neil Lilongwe, visited Malawi in 2011. Neil's family come from Malawi and Neil saw for himself that during the wet season, the villages around Chiabalazi - outside Ekwendeni - were completely cut off from main roads and travelling was impossible. The new bridge has enabled people to get to clinics, school, market, has improved the local economy and ensures medical help can reach communities when required

A lot has happened since we funded the work and it’s easy for projects like this to slip our minds amid the hustle and bustle of running a very busy on-line business, but whenever a report reaches us and we read about just how vital the bridge is to these communities, we are reminded of the generosity of everyone who worked with us on this project

Aid workers in the area say that not only has the bridge improved the villagers’ lives immeasurably, but estimate the bridge has already saved many lives by providing access to medical help . . . especially for children. We find that a humbling thought - who would ever have imagined that making cakes and selling the stuff to make them would make such an impact on the lives of others?

Community Action Nepal & Who Cares? Scotland

Back in 2012, to celebrate the launch of the new Cake Stuff logo and branding we sponsored two of our team (the youngest and the oldest) as they trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp, at a mere 17,000 ft above sea level. Willie and Cameron reached Base Camp on 10th November 2012 where Cake Stuff's new logo was unveiled to the world - from the roof of the world!

The trek was really to raise funds for 2 great causes - Community Action Nepal and WhoCares? Scotland

Community Action Nepal is a charity working with the mountain people of Nepal - the world's poorest country outside Africa. Founded by British mountaineer Doug Scott in 1975, CAN has helped build and maintain several schools, clinics, health posts and mountain porter rescue posts as well as projects in mountain villages

CAN works with the proud mountain people of this breathtaking country to improve health and education and their work has obviously taken on great urgency following the 2015 earthquakes

Who Cares? Scotland is a national voluntary organisation set up in 1978, which works with young people who have been brought up in care, foster homes or have other experience of the care system. By offering support, advice and advocacy for this group of young people - whose voices are rarely heard - Who Cares? Scotland helps raise awareness of issues affecting children and young people in the care system and ensures they have a say in decisions which affect their lives

Salvation Army Street Project

The Salvation Army is such a well known and much loved organisation that we hardly need to introduce them here

Since its founding as an evangelical Christian church by William Booth in 1865, 'The Army' has always endeavoured to express and demonstrate Christianity through practical means - members never being afraid to roll their sleeves up and offer real help to those in need. A few of us here at Cake Stuff have family connections with the Salvation Army and we're only too delighted to support the Army's work in our own small way

The Salvation Army Street Project offers hot food, clothing and support to homeless people in Glasgow. A sad sign of the times is that it's not only homeless people who come along to the 'soup kitchen' - many people find themselves in need of the Army's help for all kinds of reasons and that help is offered unconditionally

Although probably best known for their work with homeless people, the Salvation Army is one of the world's leading organisations working in areas such as human trafficking, domestic abuse and child poverty. The Army works in 127 different countries, operates 440 homeless hostels, 182 children's homes, 200 homes for elderly people, 47 mother and baby homes, 95 refuges, 70 addiction rehabilitation centres and over 50 specialist, maternity and general hospitals

The Army is currently involved (2016) in over 100 disaster rehabilitation schemes and almost 60 refugee programmes worldwide